Subject:Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Posted by: thirdnostril

Date:11/17/2008 10:38:12 AM

After ensuring it was legal, I installed AP7 on my USB drive. I got the "application configuration is incorrect" problem.

Before I try re-installing it, is there any specific setting or trick I should know? Does anyone else have AP7 on a USB drive?

Thanks in advance.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:11/17/2008 11:51:10 AM

I guess i have to ask, "why?" What do you expect to accomplish? I don't think i would ever do an application install anywhere but on an internal drive, and generally i'd never install anywhere but on the OS drive.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: Rickms

Date:11/17/2008 11:57:28 AM

I guess this is a big benefit with reaper. The executable for the app is so small and fast that people regularly store the application and songs on a USB drive for portability.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: thirdnostril

Date:11/17/2008 12:47:36 PM

I'm hoping to take AP7 wherever I go, so I can use it on other computers.

You install major applications on the same drive as your OS? That's an interesting approach.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: thirdnostril

Date:11/17/2008 12:48:43 PM

Yes, yes, I already have Reaper on my USB drive.

Its primary effect has been to make me wish I had AP7 on my USB drive.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:11/17/2008 1:11:13 PM

I would say that by far, the vast majority of all application installs under Windows are on the same drive as the OS. It's the default drive for almost every application installer, and *most* people accept the default. Why would you think it was unusual or interesting? It's so commonplace that it's really quite dull.

The problem with trying to make an application like ACID portable is that it is very heavily tied to the local Windows registry. It's unlikely to be usable on any other PC without having been installed on that PC too.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: Vocalpoint

Date:11/17/2008 1:37:04 PM

I'm hoping to take AP7 wherever I go, so I can use it on other computers.

Don't forget you would have to authorize it on all those computers and after a certain amount of repeated authorization activity - I am sure that would come to a halt pretty fast...

You install major applications on the same drive as your OS? That's an interesting approach.

Where else would you install them and why? Many programs require the OS drive as the standard location.

Installing anywhere else would seriously defeat the key purpose of backup and imaging - so if a problem does crop up - restore an entire image of the OS drive in a few minutes and one is back in business.

Plus as Chien mentions - without the Windows registry - it's pretty much impossible.

Cheers!

VP

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: thirdnostril

Date:11/17/2008 1:48:44 PM

The standard wisdom for keeping your PC humming is one drive for OS only, one drive for apps, and one for data.

Of course, you can accomplish this with a single partitioned drive, but they'll still show up as separate letters in your file explorer.

The reason the system drive is the default choice is, so if the user is a typical consumer-level user, who is much more interested in convenience and simplicity than optimal performance, and who probably doesn't even know what a partitioned drive is, they can just keep hitting the Enter key.

Since SONY phone help said, sure, you should be able to do that, I assumed it would work without special steps. So I was really looking for more of a workaround for that registry thing.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: thirdnostril

Date:11/17/2008 1:55:04 PM

I'm not going on a walkabout here--I just want to use it at work.

Backup? For an application whose installer is available online--and updated to boot? I backup my data drive, because THAT would be a major loss--all my project files and loop files and recordings are on there. But the app itself? A fresh install usually helps, if anything.

And just because it's the default doesn't mean it's required.

So SONY told me something is completely permissible and does not violate EULA--and didn't mention at the time that it was also impossible? Oy...

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: Vocalpoint

Date:11/17/2008 2:00:16 PM

The standard wisdom for keeping your PC humming is one drive for OS only, one drive for apps, and one for data

Can't think of a single reason as to why you would need to go that far - more conventional (and easier) wisdom is a System Drive (OS/Apps) and separate drive(s) for data. And if "optimal performance" is your only concern - today's modern SATA drives do not slow down no matter what is installed where.

Not only is it cheaper (a 500GB drive is 50 bucks) - but you can image the entire system in one single pass in 10 minutes and be ready for anything.

Haven't had an issue with this layout since I started in 1994.

But hey - whatever floats your boat....

VP

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: Vocalpoint

Date:11/17/2008 2:05:37 PM

I'm not going on a walkabout here--I just want to use it at work.

So install it at work?

Backup? For an application whose installer is available online--and updated to boot? I backup my data drive, because THAT would be a major loss--all my project files and loop files and recordings are on there. But the app itself? A fresh install usually helps, if anything.

To be clear - I am not talking about just backing up ACID - that's the least of my concerns - however perfectly preserving a workjng install of ACID is one of the nice byproducts. No I am talking about a hard drive controller failure or something in that realm - where no amount of online installers will help. I am talking about the kind of disaster that will require a major install party.

But plan ahead and image the entire OS drive byte for byte - so you can slam in a new disk - reapply a saved image and be back up in 10 minutes (windows and everything else) and save yourself about 3 days of install time.

VP

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: thirdnostril

Date:11/17/2008 2:52:29 PM

"So install it at work?"

...where the PCs are stripped down and locked in, and IT won't install anything for you if there's no business need?

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: thirdnostril

Date:11/17/2008 2:55:11 PM

I'm sure your system works great. Mine does, too. Would you happen to have a workaround for the topic of the original post?

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:11/17/2008 3:04:30 PM

If they're stripped down and locked in then activation probably isn't possible even from an install on the USB key.

I'll preface this by mentioning that i *am* IT at work and can pretty much do as i please with any of the PCs here, but, that being said, the work PCs are for work and i respect that.

I bring my laptop along with me with everything i want to use installed on it. That way i have the best of my own stuff ready to use for whatever i need to, and my work PC remains my work PC. Except for hard drive space, there's very little i can't accomplish on my laptop that i can do on my monster beasts at home. And, if i really need to, i can VNC into my monster beasts and run anything on the remotely.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:11/17/2008 3:09:26 PM

"The standard wisdom for keeping your PC humming is one drive for OS only, one drive for apps, and one for data."

It's probably a very teensy minority that would agree with that. Generally except for space there's no reason to use separate drives for OS and applications. These days 500GB drives are going for a song. Back when 500MB drives were the best people could reasonable obtain, that was usually still enough room for most of the applications anyone was likely to install.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: jumbuk

Date:11/17/2008 4:46:57 PM

For the record, I have AP6 installed on my eeePC, on a removable SD card. There is a good reason for doing this on the eeePC - the C:\ drive only has enough space for Windows and a few basic apps. It works fine.

I had an earlier version of Acid installed on a non-system drive of one of my music PCs and it worked fine. I had three physical drives, with Windows on one, apps on another and data (audio) on the third. My reasoning was that it would run faster this way because the system drive head would not have to track back and forth between the OS and the application files all the time. Not sure if it made a big difference - my current main music PC has the apps on the system drive.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: Vocalpoint

Date:11/17/2008 5:46:39 PM

Would you happen to have a workaround for the topic of the original post?

Nope. Without access to a valid, active Windows registry - I am afraid there's nothing more to add.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:11/17/2008 6:08:40 PM

Most likely quite possibly accessing the application files is much less drain on the drive than you think it is, even if you already think that accessing the application files is very little drain on the drive. It's certainly minuscule compared to OS access, and fairly microscopic compared to data access.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: pHuNzOnE

Date:11/17/2008 7:38:28 PM

I'm pretty sure when Sony said you could install on a USB drive ... or any other available drive for that matter ... they meant it didn't matter where on your computer you installed. Heck, I've got six drives running on my pc.

I'm sure they didn't mean: you can install it on a flash drive and it will run on any computer in which you insert the flash drive.

pHuN

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: pwppch

Date:11/17/2008 9:48:57 PM

I'm sure they didn't mean: you can install it on a flash drive and it will run on any computer in which you insert the flash drive.

Correct. You cannot install ACID onto a USB drive - or any removeable media device - and connect it to a different machine and have it run correctly, if at all. ACID relys on the Windows Registry as part of its install and registration. There is no work around.

FWIW: I installed ACID 7 on a USB drive and also not in the default location. Everything went fine.

Peter

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: thirdnostril

Date:11/18/2008 7:56:13 AM

"You cannot install ACID onto a USB drive - or any removeable media device - and connect it to a different machine and have it run correctly, if at all. ACID relys on the Windows Registry as part of its install and registration. There is no work around."

Maybe you could pass that on to Customer Service. It wasn't as if I were unclear about what I was trying to do.

Thanks for getting back to me.

Subject:RE: Installing AP7 on USB Drive

Reply by: pwppch

Date:11/18/2008 7:59:01 AM

I will make sure that this is discussed and that CS is clear on what you were trying to do.

Peter